Skip to main content

Interstate 70 overpass in Kammerer, PA hit by 'Hit & Run' overheight tractor trailer - bridge damaged and later demolished

Image
By
An overheight tractor trailer load, which had special hauling permits, damaged the McIlvanie Road overpass at the Kammerer Exit (Exit 31) on Interstate 70 in Washington County, PA on October 18.  The resulting damage forced PennDot to issue an emergency contract to demolish the nearly 55 year old overpass.

The emergency demolition forced the closure of Interstate 70 in both directions.  (Traffic was detoured along the Exit 31 interchange ramps.)  Interstate 70 was re-opened in both directions by 6 pm this evening.

The driver, Tony Kyle, had a special hauling permit to operate his tractor trailer with the overheight load.  The driver had specific instructions to exit the Interstate at Exit 31 to avoid the 14' 9" bridge.  Mr. Kyle did not exit the highway - and the overheight load struck and damaged the bridge.

Kyle continued on his way after the collision.  Pennsylvania State Law requires that a motorist report significant damage.  Kyle did not, and the incident was treated as a 'hit & run'.

PennDot will replace the bridge.  However, it is not known at this time if the replacement bridge will be closer to modern standards or not.  To meet modern standards, the bridge would need a higher clearance, and additional shoulder and interchange improvements would be needed as well.

Story - Truck damages bridge over I-70; lanes reopened ---Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Labels:

Comments

Georgia Road Geek said…
If I were PennDOT, I'd send the bill to the trucking company since their driver (or contract driver, perhaps) didn't follow instructions.
8:39 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Did Caltrans just kill the G26 cutout US Route shields?

By
The US Route System was formally created by the American Association of State Highway Officials during November 1926.  Through the history of the system the only state to which has elected to maintain cutout US Route shields has been California.  The G26 series cutout US Route shields have become a favorite in the road enthusiast hobby and are generally considered to be much more visually pleasing than the standard Federal Highway Administration variant.  However, the G26 shield series appears to have been killed off on January 18, 2026, when Caltrans updated their Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices.  This blog will examine the history of the US Route shield specifications in California and what is happening with the 2026 changes.  The blog cover photo is facing towards the terminus of California State Route 136 and at a G26-2 specification US Route 395 shield.  In the background Mount Whitney can be seen in the Sierra Nevada range.   ...
2 comments
Read more

May 2023 Ontario Trip (Part 3 of 3)

By
  Over the years, I have made plenty of trips to Ontario, crisscrossing the southern, central and eastern parts of the province. Living in Upstate New York, it's pretty easy to visit our neighbor to the north, or is that our neighbor to the west? Ottawa is one of my favorite cities to visit anywhere in the world, plus I've discovered the charm of Kingston, the waterfalls of Hamilton (which is on the same Niagara Escarpment that brings us Niagara Falls), the sheer beauty of the Bruce Peninsula, and more. But I hadn't explored much of Cottage Country. So I decided to change that, and what better time to go than over Memorial Day weekend, when the daylight is long and I have an extra day to explore. On the third and final day of my trip, I started in Huntsville and made my way through Muskoka District and Haliburton County, passing by many lakes along the way. I stopped in towns such as Dorset, Haliburton and Bancroft before making a beeline down to Belleville and then over th...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ghost Town Tuesday; Nichols, FL

By
A couple years ago I spent a lot of spare time exploring phosphate mining ghost towns in the Bone Valley of Polk County, Florida.  One ghost town in particular called Nichols on Polk County Route 676 west of Mulberry caught my eye due to a relative lack of documentation on ghosttowns.com. Nichols was created in 1905 during the early phosphate mining boom in the Bone Valley region.  For the time Nichols was unusual since it had company housing in the Nichols Mine site and private residences outside the gate.  Nichols is only about two miles west of Mulberry which probably made it a somewhat reasonable commute even by the wonky standards of the early 20th Century.  Most of the Bone Valley region was relatively remote which made commuting or homesteading impractical which is why there are so many ghost towns in the area.  The company housing section of Nichols was phased out and abandoned by 1950. The Nichols town site is largely abandoned and could "possibl...
4 comments
Read more